The present invention relates to a magnetic head or magnetic disk testing apparatus and method (an inspection apparatus and inspection method of magnetic disk or magnetic head). More particularly, the present invention relates to a testing apparatus and testing method for enabling testing with different formats.
A magnetic head or magnetic disk testing apparatus is configured to determine the quality or other aspects of a magnetic head or a magnetic disk, by locating the magnetic head above the magnetic disk, writing and reading test data through the head on a target track, and measuring the characteristics of a signal read from the target track. As shown in FIG. 5, a magnetic disk 10 has plural data tracks 10t arranged in a radial direction. Each of the data tracks 10t has plural sectors 10s each having a servo field and a data field. Thus, track control should be performed in order to locate a magnetic head 12 on a target track to be tested. At the same time, servo control is also necessary to prevent track displacement due to the surface vibration, eccentricity, or other defects of the magnetic disk, from occurring in wiring (hereinafter referred to as W)/reading (hereinafter referred to as R) of data to/from the magnetic disk whose rotation is controlled.
In conventional testing apparatus, a signal corresponding to a servo field (hereinafter referred to as “servo pattern”) is read by the magnetic head, in order to perform the above-described control by using a specific channel control IC corresponding to the servo pattern of the magnetic disk to be tested. For example, the details of the servo control in such a testing apparatus are disclosed in Patent document (Japanese Patent Application No. 3744781).